Budget tour de France

What do the following have in common? (Hint: post title)

a. Macarons, gateaux, viennoiseries
b. Pierre Herme, Laduree, Gerard Mulot
c. Dorie Greenspan, David Lebovitz, Ina Garten

Welcome to the world of French pastries! Like many people who love sweets, I dream of visiting Paris and sampling exquisite French pastries (a) at some of its most venerable patisseries (b). Despite my very limited French, I want to follow the footsteps of American chefs (c) who call Paris their second home, and pretend I am a local to experience French life to the fullest. (Perhaps Ina Garten is a stretch, she's REALLY American.)

Back to reality. I have neither the money nor time to take a grand tour of Paris.

The Bay area has a fair number of places such as Bouchon in Napa Valley that sell French sweets, but they are pricey. Trader Joe's now sells macarons in the frozen section at very affordable prices, but seriously, they tasted terrible even though I've had macarons only a handful of times in my life. So what can a budget Francophile do?

LU biscuits to the rescue. I first encountered LU during my first French lessons at Alliance Francaise in Washington, DC. Madame Auclair, our teacher, often brought several packets of LU to class. There were always LU's signature Le Petit Ecolier biscuits - buttery biscuits coated with chocolate depicting a little schoolboy. I love nibbling so I tried hard to keep my hands away from the biscuits. I knew M. Auclair and my classmates in the small class could figure out how many I ate easily.

LU's signature Le Petit Ecolier biscuits

I made myself believe every bite would transport me to Europe

Call it self-delusion, but every time I had LU, I felt I was eating something uniquely European (and it is too). My two favorite LU biscuits are Le Petit Beurre and Rich Tea. They are simple, crispy biscuits with a rich, buttery flavor and nothing else, and they don't weigh you down like shortbread.

I am surprised to find LU in almost every supermarket now, likely because its acquisition by Kraft in 2007 has opened up a vast distribution network. The biscuits are straight from France, and a packet costs only about $3.

Just be careful that some flavors contain artificial ingredients. I wonder if Kraft introduced them to cut costs just like what many food manufacturers have done to brands they bought, but that's another story.

Obviously I can make French sweets at home, but many of them are infamously complicated. I finally came across a recipe on David Lebovitz's blog (check it out, he's a former Chez Panisse pastry chef now living in Paris, I LOVE his sarcastic but incredibly humorous tone) for pain d'epices, kind of a French version of gingerbread.

Freshly baked pain d'epices, coated with sliced almonds

It's simple to make and promises some complex flavors derived from a melange of spices (including pepper!), orange zest, and honey. I had never used dark rye flour before but it really deepened the flavors. This is great for breakfast or an afternoon snack, and is even better when served warm.

A slice of pain d'epices - even the crumbs were delicious

Next time when I have the chance to visit Paris, I'll find out whether pain d'epices is as commonplace in France as David described. Before then, I am planning to read Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets over Christmas, drool over the recipes, and imagine my eventual trip to the City of Light.